The use of intraaortic balloon pumps is a well known method for treating heart failure. The balloon pump is positioned inside the aorta, typically in the proximal descending aorta. The balloon pump (typically 40-50 milliliters in capacity) is inflated and deflated in time with the contraction of the left ventricle. During diastole, the balloon is inflated, thereby driving blood in the ascending aorta and aortic arch into the coronary arteries to supply oxygen to the heart muscle. During systole, as the left ventricle contracts, the balloon is deflated so as not to increase the afterload. This procedure is termed “counterpulsation.”
Such balloon pumps are commonly placed in the body by attaching a vascular graft to an artery, advancing the balloon and its inflation catheter through the graft lumen until the balloon is dangling in the descending aorta, and then tying a suture around the graft in order to seal the graft around the inflation catheter and also to anchor the pump relative to the artery. This constitutes open surgery—a major operation.